The quantities in the various options are shown in the by subdivision of the area under the the curve for total ti The dominating importance of the May option in all th quite evident.

The diagrams for open trades show less difference b grains as regards volume than in the case of transactions also possibly more regularity in the variation of the total in the variation of total transactions. No adequate expl the month to month variation of this total open can be obta the character of the crop or the rate of its marketing, hence tion may be attributed to fluctuations of speculative inte inference is supported by the small extent of the total op in wheat in the early part of 1915 and the large extent of interest from the fall of 1915 to the spring of 1917. It is ever, that the 1915 crop was large and called for a co volume of open hedges.

FUTURE TRANSACTIONS AT CHICAGO BY GRAINS.-The follo shows the per cent distribution of trading among the three varieties of grain futures at Chicago for various years data are available. In some instances figures are shown calendar years and by crop years.

TABLE 5.-Percentage distribution, by grains, of quantities of fut in at Chicago in years specified

July-June, 1915-16.

July-June, 1916-17.

July-June, 1918-19

Half year, July-December, 1920..

Calendar, 1921.

Calendar, 1922..

112

1 See footnotes to entries in this column.

2 Trading in rye and barley futures was resumed in 1918 and quotations for the former 16, and for the latter on Sept. 9. Quantities of both rye and barley have been detern the 6 months of 1920, during which period they were, respectively, 174,435,000 and 12,481,0 together, 1.9 per cent of the total trading

3 Rye and barley as indicated in footnote 1.

4 Rye only. Barley trading was of negligible importance.

NOTE.-The use of calendar as well as July-June years in this and succeeding tables in though seemingly involving unnecessary duplication, is due to the unrepresentative chara in the year 1917 and in the last half of 1920, as well as to the fact that the periods covered fit either basis.

With the exception of the half year from July to Decem when wheat futures had just been revived after a suspension years, wheat is by all odds the dominant element in future t Chicago." The proportionate share of wheat is in genera more than half the total. There have been times when thi tion was not quite so high, even aside from the last half The comparison for the calendar year 1917 is hardly signi cause trading in wheat futures was so limited from May on

18 By Chicago is meant the Chicago Board of Trade. If the Chicago Op referred to or included there is specific mention of that name.

1915-1917